Sealed envelopes have been used for preserving identification cards, drivers licenses and the like. In a typical lamination process, the information to be preserved is sandwiched between two transparent plastic layers which are secured around the periphery. In this way the outer plastic laminate layers protect the insert.
The prior art such as Wilburger U.S. Pat. No. 1,446,232, Nystrom U.S. Pat. No. 1,683,479, Huni U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,829, and Sengewald U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,771 provided perforations for insert into pins for ring binders or the like.
In particular, Huni U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,829 and Roop U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,066 provide hinged overlying flaps with openings therein.
Farmer U.S. Pat. No. 2,093,977 also shows the idea of providing a flap laminate which folds backward from the hinge to provide a handle or support means for the receptacle. In the Huni and Roop patents, the flap is formed from the rear sheet rather than from the front sheet. Lefebvre U.S. Pat. No. 2,833,401 provides a sealed flap. Geimer U.S. Pat. No. 1,947,934 provides a sealed flap with perforations therein.
The need has existed for a sealed transparent envelope which can be supported on a hook or the like for display purposes in stores and which also may be positioned in a ringed notebook binder.